Promises
by wintaer
Summary: He broke some and kept some. One-shot. SadoIchi friendship fic


_**Disclaimer: **Bleach does not belong to me, I only play with the characters._

Promises

I made a promise to Abuelo when I still lived in Mexico, a promise that kept me from swinging my fists for my own sake.

Yet today, I broke that promise by hitting you.

We had promised to fight for what the other person held dear, promised to watch each other's back through thick and thin, but you became too strong and I became too weak. You started to fight against everything by yourself, and I was unable to help you, forced to watch as my role of the protector slipped further and further away. Watch as you started to take on more and more challenges, burdening your shoulders with each hurdle.

That is something I should be doing alongside you. It is what my giant fists are for, what my huge body is for; they stand for my ability to protect others and are my only weapons. This strength that I was given… it is for the friends I have made, the friends that I am determined to protect. It is my job, my desire, my life. I am the one who watches your back.

But I couldn't any longer… I just couldn't help you out anymore…

So I ran.

I ran and ran with my muddled thoughts, with the horror of realizing that I was no longer strong enough for you. That somehow, you had surpassed my strength and didn't need me anymore. I ran until I reached Urahara's shop and begged-- _begged_, the man to help me grow stronger, to help me realize the full potential of the powers that you woke within me.

And then I trained.

I trained long and hard, the image of your back etched into my mind, the images of our past fights together providing the fuel for my soul to continue on. I think Abuelo was watching over me then, empowering me with his strength as I fought for power. I polished my fists and sharpened the very essence of my soul so that I could fight alongside you once more, pushing my body to its limits, not stopping even as every fiber of my being cried out for rest. It paid off. I regained the strength gifted to my big body.

But you dismissed it without a thought.

I know you didn't mean it, that you meant well and that you probably hadn't even noticed my increased reiatsu, but nonetheless, it angered me that you would dismiss your friends so easily. It has always been both your strength and weakness… this fierce desire to protect your friends; a desire that strengthens your resolve but at the cost of blinding you towards your nakama's true abilities.

We're not helpless Ichigo, a fact that I had to physically demonstrate before you could accept it. You really don't have to carry the burden by yourself, that's what friends are for. It's a simple fact, but one that you always seem to insist on forgetting, just like how you kept insisting on pronouncing my name wrong when we first met. It's another part of your personality I have come to accept over the years; a part that would require me to continuously force some common sense back into that head of yours whenever it falls out.

Something that seems to be occurring more and more frequently now that you're a shinigami representative… We had only just faced our first opponents in Hueco Mundo before you had once again forgotten about our abilities. Really now, telling Ishida and I to step aside… I had already started walking towards you before you could even finish you sentence.

Which is why you're currently sporting a purple bruise on the left side of your face, though I'm not quite sure if you've noticed it yet, what with you arguing with Ishida yet again.

I suppose I could have just asked you to let us handle it, but I was never one for many words and you were never one who liked to listen to others. Physical means got the message through your head much faster.

And was much more satisfying, as much as I cringe to acknowledge it…

So yes, maybe Abuelo is looking down at me now in disappointment, shaking his head as a ghost of the eight-year old cocky child resurfaces within me, but I am happy.

I can watch your back for you again, Ichigo…

I may have broken one promise, but I have managed to keep the other.

* * *

_**A/N: **Written for the fanfic contest over at Gateway Bleach on LJ. First time I've ever wrote this pairing. Had to go back and look at the Chad and Ichigo interactions to be able to write this. I've realized that Chad isn't as silent as I thought he was... lol. _

_Anyways, tell me what you guys think!_


End file.
